Summary
The SAILOR 6000 Series is a new suite of marine satellite and radio communication equipment for use aboard professional vessels. The equipment can be sold as standalone items or as part of an integrated commusnications console.
The inspiration for this new generation of products was user feedback and maritime insights. Each product had been painstakingly re-engineered to make it more intuitive, ergonomic and durable to support operational life aboard commercial vessels.
The creative idea highlights that Thrane & Thrane has tuned into end-users to ensure that its new product line is on the same wavelength as those intended to use the products. This understanding of users is further reinforced by imagery taken aboard real working vessels, using real sailors.
The campaign included ads in trade magazines, microsite, exhibitions, posters, sales literature, data sheets, dealer POS material, emails and presentations.
The client
Thrane & Thrane makes radio and satellite communication equipment for professional users, addressing aeronautical, land mobile and marine communication needs.
Maritime communication technology accounts for 65 per cent of turnover and is marketed under the SAILOR brand name. The core of the SAILOR range is the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems) portfolio. This equipment is required by maritime law, with specific requirements for different vessel types defined by the International Maritime Organisation. The SAILOR 6000 Series is Thrane & Thrane’s latest range of GMDSS-compliant radio and satellite systems.
Strategy
The overall channel strategy was to support every phase in the sales funnel with relevant marketing material. And this process began by activating the B2B marine dealers. Traditionally, SAILOR products were sold through a collection of hand-picked regional partners (distributors), who in turn pushed products through local dealerships. The trouble with this model was information decay as marketing information travelled along the sales channel to the point of purchase. Marketing material and brand messages were just not getting through to dealers or end-users.
To better control information flow and reach out directly to local dealers and end-users, it was decided that a dealer microsite would form the centrepiece of the product launch. Here local dealers could, in effect, get briefed directly from Thrane & Thrane. The site contains overall brand positioning information, product details, downloads and marketing materials. This gave dealers everything they needed to understand and promote the new SAILOR 6000 Series. However, the microsite was broad enough to also cover the needs of end-users and could act as a marketing channel in its own right.
In addition to the microsite, the launch was supported by end-user directed advertising (which drove traffic to the microsite), POS posters and banners, product literature, exhibitions and events, presentation material and emails.
Another strategic content consideration was flexibility. The SAILOR 6000 Series is a whole suite of products that need to be marketed both individually and in combination. As such it was important to develop a flexible “umbrella” concept that could work both for the product range as a whole and for the promotion of individual products. Finally, content needed to be implemented across a variety of media channels, so it was important that the concept could be applied to everything from advertisements to emails.
The SAILOR 6000 Series was launched at SMM 2010, the world’s largest tradeshow for the maritime industry. Over 200 key partners from across the globe were invited to an exclusive briefing the night before the SAILOR 6000 Series officially launched at Thrane & Thrane’s exhibition stand.
Objectives of the campaign
• Position SAILOR 6000 as the most intuitive and customer-centric product range in its class
• Reach out to a much wider group of local dealers worldwide
• Generate end-user awareness and interest in SAILOR 6000 Series
The creative idea
The creative concept was inspired directly by the technical briefing. The SAILOR 6000 range of products was developed on the back of customer feedback. Thrane & Thrane had re-engineered each product in the range to offer new features, overcome weaknesses and meet customer requirements more effectively than ever. This insight into the working reality of life at sea was the basic idea behind the concept “On your frequency”.
Visuals merge the rough, physical environment of professional seafaring with the benefits of SAILOR’s advanced technology. Mixing photographs and graphics, images show maritime professionals transmitting their ideas and thoughts back to Thrane & Thrane. The messaging conveys that all this customer feedback has been taken onboard to create a new generation of superior products. Key to this campaign was authenticity, and great lengths were taken to actually board real working vessels to photograph professional sailors in their natural environment.
The “On your frequency” concept was strategically relevant and creatively engaging, flexible and authentic. This shows how the concept was applied to POS posters and trade ads.
Target audience
The campaign was designed to appeal to two key audiences:
1. End-users, ie, ship owners, operators and crew
2. Dealers and distributors of the products
It was important that the marketing material spoke both to end-users and, indirectly, to dealers. By creating a powerful, distinct sales proposition, end-users could immediately see the benefits of the SAILOR 6000 Series, while dealers could rapidly understand the key selling propositions and overall product positioning.
Media, channels or techniques used
Dealer media: Microsite, POS, exhibition, emails, sales support, partner event
End-user material: Trade ads, exhibition, microsite, banner ads, sales brochures, data sheets
The campaign mechanics were designed to support every phase in the sales funnel, with each activity helping move a prospect further along the buying process.
Awareness: The Sailor 6000 Series was launched at the SMM2010 tradeshow, attracting a lot of attention from partners, dealers and end-users. This momentum was maintained with an ad campaign in trade media directing readers to a microsite.
Interest: Dealers were the first to receive access to the microsite (pre-launch), giving them a head start to familiarise themselves with the product range and key sales arguments. Dealers and distributors also received integrated POS materials to furnish showrooms and dealerships for added point-of-sale impact and experience consistency. End users also used the microsite, which was multi-dimensional enough to support everything from commercial benefits through to technical specifications and contact information. This allowed users to self-segment, with hot leads automatically connecting to local dealers via the website.
Desire and action: The final phases of the sales funnel were carried forward by the dealers and sales teams themselves. However, they were supported throughout the process with a full range of integrated sales literature, presentations, emails and technical data sheets, providing an informative, intelligent, integrated experience.
Microsite
A microsite targeted dealers and end-users, furnishing both with key product information. A multi-dimensional channel, the site intuitively led visitors from commercial benefits to product details to downloads and contact information.
Pop-up boxes expanded on key benefits and connected benefits to specific products, leading users further into the site. Detailed product information, downloads and calls-to-action supported each product in the SAILOR 6000 Series.
Brochure
An 8-page brochure takes readers through the USPs.
POS material
Campaign materials included roll-ups and posters for use at showrooms and dealerships.
Exhibition
The SMM2010 exhibition stand integrates with the SAILOR 6000 Series marketing concept and provides a perfect launch platform.
Timescale of the campaign
Briefing, strategy and creative development took place during May – August 2010.
The campaign was launched at the SMM trade fair in September 2010
Results
The main campaign metric was the microsite. Given the limited target group, this was always about quality, not quantity. Within the first four months the site had registered the following metrics:
Awareness metrics
• Almost 11,000 unique page views
• Over 1,200 unique visitors to the site (out of a dealer target group of 2,000) Engagement metrics
• Average time spent on the site was 5 minutes, and in some key maritime markets, eg, Singapore, visitors registered an average time of over 7 minutes
• Average number of page views was five pages per visit
Offline metrics
• 54 per cent of traffic came directly to the website (without using search or referrals), illustrating that the off-line call to action (which urged readers to the microsite) worked extremely effectively
